Novelist ~ Playwright ~ Producer ~ Teacher

"One of the best ways to stimulate your minds on a regular basis is to watch this program - another example of the interesting programs available to viewers on public access." -- Matt Buckler, television and radio editor, Journal Inquirer, Manchester CT

One-woman play based on the memoir by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the Little Rock Nine who integrated Central High School in 1957-58. Warriors Don't Cry completed its second national tour in 2014. For more info and a video clip, visit the website of the producer: The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, CT < http://www.Bushnell.org >

JUST A MIRACLE Pharmacist Brenna McAuley turned to science, determined to hide her maternal heritage as a healer who charts the moon and practices the Old Magic. Her secret is exposed when she falls in love with Jake Darrow and he asks her to heal a mysterious old snake oil salesman.
Available from SAMHAIN PUBLISHING'S RETRO ROMANCE

"This story could melt even the hardest heart...This book is Magic!"
Donita Lawrence, Bookseller of the Year (1995)

FIRST AND FOREVER Pregnant and unmarried, immigrant Katrina Swann’s desperate need for security is tested on the wild Dakota plains. Justin Barrison knows Katrina is engaged to his younger brother. But Justin is the father of her baby.
Available from SAMHAIN PUBLISHING'S RETRO ROMANCE

BAND OF GOLD Set against the backdrop of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, Aurelia Brighton leaves medical school to rescue her sister, Violet, from the clutches of a drug dealer. Disgraced Seattle banker Clay Guardian is also looking for Violet. She robbed his bank. He wants to see her hanged.
Available from SAMHAIN PUBLISHING'S RETRO ROMANCE

Novella "Tambourine Moon," Words of the Witches anthology, Berkley, 2002
Old and widowed Izabella cannot die and join her beloved Zoltan in the Summerland until she passes on her knowledge of the Craft to one of her daughters. Neither wants anything to do with their mother's magick...until one fateful night in an empty theater. With the walls still vibrating from a concert of Gypsy violins, Izabella summons the ancestors.

Zita TV Network: Page 1, Full Bloom, and Weddings with Zita
Page 1 launched in March 2004. As host and producer, I enjoy talking to other writers about their work and their process. How do you make a character sympathetic? How do you create a complex villain? Do you write with a specific theme in mind? Do you recognize the autobiographical in your fiction? In what way, if any, do you bear a responsibility for the content you put into the world? Under what circumstances, if any, would you trust someone else to complete your manuscript?

I've interviewed bestselling authors, first-time authors, self-published authors, screenwriters, traditional poets and performance poets, playwrights, actors, directors, and writing teachers. For some, writing is a must, akin to breathing. For others, the compulsion is tell one story, one memoir or family history, a legacy for generations to follow.

"By watching Page 1, viewers will be able to collect one important thing: information." -- Matt Buckler, television and radio editor, Journal Inquirer

Before Page 1, I created Full Bloom. My generation has been labeled "Baby Boomers." Television and newspapers are full of articles and statistics about how we're aging and what effect that collective maturing will have on society. The implications are not always positive. I started Full Bloom back in 2001 because I wanted a show that would acknowledge the contributions of men and women who, despite their age, will never retire from life. I wanted a show where the heroes didn't have to be movie stars or athletes or millionaires. I wanted to prove that those of us labeled "ordinary" can make a difference in the world. I wanted a show that would celebrate our lives.

My latest venture combines my love of writing romance novels and serving as an officiant for couples getting married. Weddings with Zita features interviews with wedding vendors. My goal is to provide useful information for those planning this rite of passage.

To keep track of all three shows, I've organized them under the umbrella "Zita TV Network." Look for it on YouTube. The website is coming soon.

Warriors Don't Cry ~ the play
Melba Pattillo was only fifteen years old when she and eight other black students entered the prestigious, all white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and changed the world. That was 1957. The issue of equal access to education is still a timely and controversial subject. This play is based on the memoir by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals.

101 Ways You Can Help: How To Offer Comfort And Support To Those Who Are Grieving - by Liz Aleshire
My dear friend Liz Aleshire lost her only child to bone cancer in 1995; he was sixteen. No surprise, Liz went into a deep, prolonged bereavement. She learned first-hand how difficult it is for many people to talk to someone who has suffered such a devastating loss. Those who did engage often said things out of ignorance that only made the situation worse. Twelve years after Nathan's death, Liz said she felt ready to write this book. She wanted to share what she had learned. She wanted to honor her son's memory.

But Liz had a heart attack in May 2008. In Cardiology ICU, too weak to finish the writing, Liz asked me to assemble a team of friends and fellow writers to finish the manuscript. I did. With permission from Liz's editor at Sourcebooks and with the help of Kathleen Barach, Marsha Browne, Judy Huge, Paula Chaffee Scardamalia, and Anne Frazier Walradt, we finished the manuscript on the original editorial schedule.

Liz lived long enough to see the beautiful cover. She died before the book was published. I was honored to write the foreword. I remain honored to have been part of this project, truly a book of the heart.

Workshops: Tools for Building Story
This six-part course is packed with brainstorming exercises. As they unleash your imagination, you gain the practical tools and the confidence to write your novel. Rather than writing alone, you’ll work in small groups with selections from a huge portfolio of pictures that reveal character through body language, clothing, and facial gestures. With more images, you’ll build the character’s family and unearth the makings of a dynamic backstory. Identify your characters’ hot buttons. Polish them. Press them! Add more characters and watch a plot develop. Make the setting energize the plot. Discover what really matters in a sex scene. You'll walk out of class with a valuable collection of handouts you can refer to again and again, and a notebook brimming with ideas for your story.

Memberships

The Celebrant Foundation & Institute is a nonprofit organization whose mission to serve and embrace people from all walks of life by offering a gold-standard study program that educates and trains people to become professional, Certified Life-Cycle Celebrants with expertise in ceremony and ritual.